France confirms 1st Ebola case linked to DRC as UN warns outbreak is fastest-growing in Africa’s history

France confirms 1st Ebola case linked to DRC as UN warns outbreak is fastest-growing in Africa’s history
France confirms 1st Ebola case linked to DRC as UN warns outbreak is fastest-growing in Africa’s history
Ebola virus test, conceptual image. (DIGICOMPHOTO/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY/Getty Images)

(NEW YORK) — France has confirmed its first Ebola case linked to the outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) as the United Nations warned that the outbreak is the fastest-growing in Africa’s history.

The patient in France is a humanitarian doctor who recently returned from the DRC and has been transferred to a specialist hospital, authorities confirmed.

French health officials said the case was detected quickly, the necessary precautions are in place and that there is no indication of local spread.

“France has specialized capabilities for managing highly transmissible infectious diseases,” France’s Ministry of Health said in a statement announcing the case. “Patients are treated in a designated healthcare facility, following strict biosafety protocols (negative pressure room, dedicated equipment and protocols). Health authorities are fully mobilized and the situation is being continuously monitored.”

“All precautionary measures, including the patient’s isolation, were taken upon his arrival in the country, with transfer to the hospital under secure conditions to prevent any risk of contamination,” the statement continued.

Officials said a thorough epidemiological investigation is underway to identify individuals who may have been in contact with the patient and that they will be contacted “without delay” by the regional health agency before undergoing 21 days of home isolation while being closely monitored the entire time.

The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control said on Wednesday that the risk of infection is “low” for European residents and travelers to areas of active transmission, and “very low” for the general European population.

The development comes as U.N. officials warned on Tuesday that the Ebola outbreak in the DRC is spreading at an unprecedented pace.

As of Monday, there were 1,048 confirmed cases and 267 deaths, making it the largest number of confirmed Ebola cases recorded during the first month of an outbreak in Africa, according to Dr. Abdirahman Mahamud, director of heath and emergency alert and response operations at the World Health Organization.

Mahamud said it took just 37 days for the current outbreak to reach 250 deaths, compared to 78 days during the 2014 and 2016 West Africa outbreaks and 130 days during the 2018-2019 DRC outbreak.

Mahamud added that there are some signs the response has been scaled up to match the pace of the outbreak’s spread.

The number of beds available for treatment has risen in the last two weeks, “going from a handful to over 500 beds across 19 health zones,” he said.  

Additionally, the U.N. said laboratory capacity has also increased from 30 tests a day in Kinshasa, the DRC’s capital, at the start of the outbreak to more than 2,000 tests per day through eight labs in the three provinces at the center of the outbreak.

Paolo Cravero, senior office of communications and media relations at the International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, said there is “a lack of trust in the response” among affected communities and that the organization is “working hard with communities to bridge that gap.” 

“Rumor and misinformation are creating some difficulties,” he said.

Copyright © 2026, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

France confirms 1st Ebola case linked to outbreak in the DRC

France confirms 1st Ebola case linked to DRC as UN warns outbreak is fastest-growing in Africa’s history
France confirms 1st Ebola case linked to DRC as UN warns outbreak is fastest-growing in Africa’s history
Ebola virus test, conceptual image. (DIGICOMPHOTO/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY/Getty Images)

(NEW YORK) — France has confirmed its first Ebola case linked to the outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, officials said.

The patient is a humanitarian doctor who recently returned from the DRC and has been transferred to a specialist hospital, authorities confirmed.

French health officials say the case was detected quickly, the necessary precautions are in place and that there is no indication of local spread.

“France has specialized capabilities for managing highly transmissible infectious diseases,” France’s Ministry of Health said in a statement announcing the case. “Patients are treated in a designated healthcare facility, following strict biosafety protocols (negative pressure room, dedicated equipment and protocols). Health authorities are fully mobilized and the situation is being continuously monitored.”

“All precautionary measures, including the patient’s isolation, were taken upon his arrival in the country, with transfer to the hospital under secure conditions to prevent any risk of contamination,” the statement continued.

Officials said a thorough epidemiological investigation is underway to identify individuals who may have been in contact with the patient and that they will be contacted “without delay” by the regional health agency before undergoing 21 days of home isolation while being closely monitored the entire time.

The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control has assessed the risk of infection as “low” for European residents and travelers to areas of active transmission, and “very low” for the general European population.

Copyright © 2026, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

1st-of-its-kind mission will attempt to save aging space telescope using robot spacecraft

1st-of-its-kind mission will attempt to save aging space telescope using robot spacecraft
1st-of-its-kind mission will attempt to save aging space telescope using robot spacecraft
Startup Katalyst Space is teaming up with NASA to try and rescue the Swift telescope using the company’s newly developed robotic spacecraft. (NASA)

(LONDON) — Satellites don’t always stay in orbit. As they get closer to Earth, atmospheric drag can pull them lower and lower until they burn up, with solar activity speeding up the process.

NASA’s Swift Space Observatory is facing that fate — its orbit is decaying, and if left alone, it will be destroyed in a matter of months. 

But in a first-of-its-kind mission, Katalyst Space, a startup, is teaming up with NASA to try and rescue Swift using the company’s newly developed robotic spacecraft, LINK.

“This is a historic mission, you know, some would call it the first of its kind, a robotic spacecraft that can go and capture an unprepared satellite,” said Robert Lamontagne, vice president of strategic partnerships at Katalyst Space.

Swift’s original orbit was around 370 miles above the Earth’s surface. But over the years, it’s fallen to less than 250 miles, according to NASA. Now it’s a race against the clock to keep Swift from falling even further and burning up in Earth’s atmosphere.

To save the satellite before time runs out, the Arizona-based company built its 935-pound rescue spacecraft in just 250 days. LINK was designed to physically interact with Swift despite the observatory not being designed for this kind of operation.

“Over the last nine months, we have gone from a clean sheet to a spacecraft that is currently integrated on a rocket, on an airplane ready to go to college for launch,” added Kieran Wilson, the principal investigator for LINK at Katalyst Space. “This is an absolutely unprecedented development timeline for this program.”

If all goes as planned, LINK will be launched into space on Saturday aboard a Northrop Grumman Pegasus XL rocket, which will be launched from a Lockheed L-1011 TriStar carrier aircraft taking off from Kwajalein Atoll in the South Pacific.

Once in orbit, it will take about three weeks for LINK to rendezvous with and capture the 22-year-old observatory. Over two to three months, the spacecraft will use its thrusters to raise Swift into a more stable orbit. The two will then separate as LINK lowers itself back into Earth’s atmosphere, where it will burn up, keeping it from adding to the rest of the space debris in our orbit.

The hope is that the maneuver will add 10 years to the mission and allow NASA to resume its scientific operations. The space agency had to stop most of the observatory’s scientific operations to reduce drag and slow its descent from orbit.

“No one thought it was going to be possible,” said Shawn Domagal-Goldman, NASA’s division director for astrophysics. “No one thought we would get as far as we’ve already gotten today.” 

The clock is ticking for the $30 million mission to be completed. According to NASA, Swift is currently falling at roughly eight kilometers per month, and the space agency estimates it will drop below 300 kilometers sometime around October. 

According to Wilson, at that point, the satellite will be “too low” for the rescue mission to be executed.

A potential blueprint for saving satellites

Earth’s orbit is littered with lots of aging satellites. If the mission is successful, NASA and Katalyst hope it could help establish a blueprint for future satellite rescues so fewer spacecraft are abandoned. Katalyst envisions having a fleet of spacecraft that can repair, refuel and upgrade satellites in need of help.

“Katalyst is here really to kind of mark the end of that throwaway model and the start of a new model where we think the spacecraft operators should no longer be constrained by the silly decisions that were made before launch,” Lamontagne said.

There’s no guarantee the rescue will be successful. Swift wasn’t designed to be grabbed by another spacecraft, and its age could make it vulnerable to damage during the capture.

“We still have to get spacecraft on orbit. We have to operate the spacecraft there successfully. And as we’ve all seen before, that’s a very challenging thing to do,” said Wilson.

“Rendezvous is going to be a challenge. It’s always a technical challenge, but we think we’re ready to handle that,” he added.

NASA says space weather and how the Earth’s atmosphere interacts with the spacecraft could also impact the outcome.

“If my confidence proves true and this team pulls off everything perfectly, the darn sun puffing up the darn atmosphere, at the wrong time,” Domagal-Goldman said. “There are still unknowns, both in terms of the dynamic nature of this part of Earth’s atmosphere, and its response to solar activity that is beyond all of our control.”

The Swift Space Observatory is a NASA satellite built to study gamma-ray bursts, the brightest and most powerful explosions in the universe. Swift uses multiple instruments, including three multiwavelength telescopes that can collect data in visible, ultraviolet, X-ray and gamma-ray light. NASA has used it to study black holes, stars, comets and other celestial objects.

“Swift can routinely conduct follow-up with things that go bump in the night within minutes. It really is NASA’s first responder,” said Brad Cenko, Swift’s principal investigator at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center.

Launched in 2004, the observatory was supposed to last only two years. But it’s been operating for more than two decades.

“Last year, Swift received five requests from the community to follow up newly discovered sources each and every day. That’s more annual community requests than any other NASA facility,” Cenko added.

Copyright © 2026, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Heat stress is intensifying worldwide, scientists say

Heat stress is intensifying worldwide, scientists say
Heat stress is intensifying worldwide, scientists say
A man cools himself at a public fountain on June 21, 2026 in Seville, Spain. (Marcelo del Pozo/Getty Images)

(LONDON) — The number of people who experience heat stress around the world every year has increased exponentially in the last several decades due to climate change, according to new research.

One billion more people are currently facing at least one day of “extreme heat stress” annually compared to the 1970s, according to a study published Monday in Nature Climate Change.

Heat stress is defined as the net heat load on an individual and can be influenced by temperature, humidity, wind and radiation, according to the paper. Heat stress is the leading cause of weather-related deaths and can exacerbate underlying illnesses, including cardiovascular disease, diabetes, mental health and asthma, according to the World Health Organization.

“Heat is a leading cause of weather-related mortality at the global scale,” Rebecca Emerton, senior scientist for the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts, in Reading, U.K., and lead author of the paper, told ABC News.

Researchers quantified the Universal Thermal Climate Index (UTCI), a thermal stress index, essentially a feels-like temperature that accounts for temperature, humidity, wind speed, solar radiation and how the human body reacts to the environment, Emerton said.

The scientists analyzed a global dataset of human heat stress from 1950 to 2024 to determine that the hottest days of the year looked like in decades past, especially in the 1970s, when the global feels-like trends started to rise, Emerton said. They then compared those figures to maximum UTCI values that are being seen today.

They found that the 10 warmest nights of each year have warmed faster than the 10 warmest days — by about a global average rate of .58 degrees Fahrenheit, according to the paper.

Extreme feels-like temperatures are also more frequent on every continent, the new research shows. Subtropical regions, including southern North America, southern Europe and northern and southern Africa, now experience up to 50 additional days annually with “strong to extreme heat stress,” defined by researchers as a UTCI greater than or equal to 89.6 degrees and 114.8 degrees Fahrenheit, respectively.

Exposure to at least one day of extreme heat stress has risen from 16% to 22% of the global population, equivalent to about one billion people, according to the paper.

As a result, global heat stress is increasing in frequency, severity and duration — both during the day and at night, the researchers found.

Nighttime heat is especially significant for health, because if the temperatures remain high overnight, the human body doesn’t have as much of an opportunity to recover from the heat of the day, Emerton noted.

Extreme heat stress, now occurs 2.5 times more often in Europe and South America, twice as often in North America and 1.8, 1.7 and 1.2 times more often in Africa, Oceania and Asia, respectively, according to the paper.

The increased instances of heat stress experienced by modern populations is a direct result of climate change, Emerton noted.

While empirical evidence shows that heatwaves are becoming more frequent, longer and more intense, the changes experienced by people around the world — including how the heat impacts them both during the day and at night — has not yet been well-studied, the researchers said.

Action plans for heat health, as well as early-warning systems, urban cooling interventions and the integration of heat stress metrics in climate risk assessments, will be necessary to protect populations from increased heat stress, according to the paper.

“We hope this helps people across the world understand the changes that are happening, and we hope that information can support decision-making on how to plan and adapt for the future,” Emerton said.

Copyright © 2026, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer announces resignation with ‘good grace’

UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer announces resignation with ‘good grace’
UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer announces resignation with ‘good grace’
Prime Minister Keir Starmer announces his resignation as UK Prime Minister and Leader of the Labour Party, outside No.10 Downing Street on June 22, 2026 in London, England. (Photo by Dan Kitwood/Getty Images)

(LONDON) — Prime Minister Keir Starmer announced on Monday he would resign as the leader of his party and as prime minister, setting the stage for the United Kingdom’s seventh prime minister within a decade.

Starmer, who said he spoke on Monday with King Charles, said he expected to remain in office until a successor was chosen from within his Labour Party.

“The question my party is asking now is whether I am best placed to lead us into the next general election,” he said outside 10 Downing Street. “I have heard the answer of my parliamentary party to that question, and I accept that answer with good grace.”

Starmer, who had led Labour since 2020, was elected to lead the country in a general election 2024. His replacement is expected to be chosen by his party.

Starmer said he asked party leaders to open nominations for a successor on July 9. He did not give a date for his departure from 10 Downing Street, but said he expected a new prime minister to be in place by September, when Parliament returns from its summer recess.

The resignation announcement followed months of turmoil for Starmer, with some members of his own party criticizing his leadership, saying he had not been able to deliver the rapid change needed after taking office following 14 years of Conservative Party rule in Britain.

Many in Starmer’s Labour party had written to Starmer asking him to step down following local elections in May, which saw the party lose more than 1,000 seats on local councils, results that were widely interpreted as a repudiation by British voters of Labour’s performance under the prime minister’s leadership.

A formal challenge to his premiership had not yet begun as of Monday, but some members of his party have in recent weeks coalesced in public support of Andy Burnham, the former mayor of Greater Manchester, as his potential successor.

Burnham, who won a special election on Friday to become a member of parliament representing Makerfield, was expected to be sworn in in the House of Commons on Monday.

Following Starmer’s announcement, Burnham said on social media that he would seek a nomination in the Labour leadership contest.

“People want to see progress on economic growth, cost of living, public services, housing and opportunities for the next generation,” he said. “Political change should never distract from the responsibility to improve people’s lives.”

Another potential successor, Wes Streeting, a member of parliament who resigned from his position as Starmer’s health secretary in May, threw his support behind Burnham on Monday.

“We could spend the summer exaggerating our small differences, or we can roll up our sleeves and help [Burnham] to deliver the change our Party and our country needs,” Streeting said in a statement. “That is the choise that I am making and I hope that everyone else will back Andy, too.”

Starmer long said he intended to see out his full five-year term, which began with his party’s 2024 landslide election victory, which also delivered Labour a historic majority in the House of Commons.

Ursula von der Leyen, the president of the EU Commission, praised Starmer after his announcement, saying, “It can take many leaders years to grow into the statesman you became in just two years. European and Ukrainian security is stronger because of you. Thank you, dear Keir.”

ABC News’ David Brennan, Jamie Dorrington and Zoe Magee contributed to this report.

Copyright © 2026, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Suspect charged after 3-year-old boy wound up in crocodile enclosure released on bail

Suspect charged after 3-year-old boy wound up in crocodile enclosure released on bail
Suspect charged after 3-year-old boy wound up in crocodile enclosure released on bail
Stock image of handcuffs. (Westend61/Getty Images)

(LONDON) — The man arrested and charged after a 3-year-old boy wound up in a crocodile enclosure at a British zoo was released on bail Friday as the investigation continues, police said.

The unidentified 30-year-old suspect from Norfolk was released after investigators said he “was assessed as unfit for police interview,” according to the Cambridgeshire Constabulary.

The incident occurred on Thursday afternoon at Johnsons of Old Hurst, a family-run farm and zoo located in Huntingdon in Cambridgeshire, when the unidentified boy “ended up in the crocodile enclosure,” police said.

The boy sustained “serious injuries” while in the enclosure and was pulled out by staff from the zoo. He received medical treatment at the scene before being taken to the hospital, according to the police.

He was listed in critical but stable condition as of Friday. The suspect, who will remain on bail until September, is not known to the victim, according to police.

The suspect was arrested under suspicion of attempted murder.

Johnsons of Old Hurst said its tropical house, which is home to multiple species of crocodiles and other reptiles, will remain closed until further notice “out of respect to the family.”

“Our thoughts and prayers are with the boy and his family following the incident that occurred today,” Johnsons of Old Hurst said in a statement on social media Thursday. 

-ABC News’ Meredith Deliso contributed to this report.

Copyright © 2026, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Thousand-year-old ancient oak tree tied to ‘Robin Hood’ legend has died, wildlife charity says

Thousand-year-old ancient oak tree tied to ‘Robin Hood’ legend has died, wildlife charity says
Thousand-year-old ancient oak tree tied to ‘Robin Hood’ legend has died, wildlife charity says
Major Oak, RSPB Sherwood Forest Nature Reserve, Nottinghamshire, May 2026 (Ben Andrew/RSPB)

(LONDON) — A giant, ancient oak tree located in the the Sherwood Forest — the iconic setting of the “Robin Hood” legend — has died, one of the U.K.’s top bird and wildlife conservation charities said.

Famous for its enormous trunk — about 36 feet in circumference — and gnarled branches, the Major Oak was believed to be about 1,200 years old, according to the RSPB Bird & Wildlife Conservation Charity.

The tree had been in “visible decline” for several years, the charity said and failed to produce any leaves this spring.

“Whilst the tree’s failure to produce leaves this year is heart-breaking for everyone — from the many people over the years who have looked after this magnificent tree to the millions who have travelled here to see it — we know the Major Oak will have a lasting legacy, first and foremost because it is so inextricably linked to Robin Hood and Sherwood Forest,” Hollie Drake, senior site manager at RSPB Sherwood Forest, said in a statement.

The organization said it couldn’t determine the exact cause of the tree’s demise.

Among the factors cited were poor soil and a weakened root system as well as “well-intentioned efforts to preserve the tree’s impressive shape” over the years, including metal bracing and coverings that prevented the tree from aging naturally, the organization said.

The group also cited the effects of climate change and recent heat waves and drought.

While the tree has died, the organization said the oak will remain standing in its place in the park, “continuing as an emblem in the landscape and providing valuable decaying wood habitat.”

In addition, acorns and cuttings from the tree have already been grown into saplings.

“There are Major Oak saplings planted in locations right around the world, so we are planning work to ensure that its offspring will grow and generate their own acorns — and legends — for centuries to come,” the organization said.

Copyright © 2026, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Man arrested after 3-year-old boy critically injured in crocodile enclosure: Police

Man arrested after 3-year-old boy critically injured in crocodile enclosure: Police
Man arrested after 3-year-old boy critically injured in crocodile enclosure: Police
Stock photo of a crocodile. (Diego Kondratzky/500px/STOCK PHOTO/Getty Images)

(NEW YORK) — A man has been arrested on suspicion of attempted murder after a 3-year-old boy wound up in a crocodile enclosure at a zoo in eastern England, suffering serious injuries, according to police.

The “distressing incident” occurred Thursday afternoon at Johnsons of Old Hurst, a family-run farm and zoo located in Huntingdon in Cambridgeshire, police said.

The boy “ended up in the crocodile enclosure” and was taken to a local hospital, where he was in critical but stable condition, Cambridgeshire police said.

A 30-year-old man who is an apparent stranger to the child has been arrested on suspicion of attempted murder in connection with the incident, police said.

“At this stage we are speaking to people who were at the zoo at the time of this distressing incident to understand more about the circumstances,” Det. Insp. Verity McCann said in a statement. “We do not believe the man arrested and the child are known to each other.”

The incident remains under investigation.  

Huntingdon Member of Parliament Ben Obese-Jecty said his “thoughts are with the young victim and his family during a hugely traumatic and difficult time.”

“This is now a live criminal investigation and I would ask people to refrain from speculation online,” he said in a statement on social media.

Johnsons of Old Hurst said its tropical house, which is home to multiple species of crocodiles and other reptiles, will remain closed until further notice “out of respect to the family.”

“Our thoughts and prayers are with the boy and his family following the incident that occurred today,” Johnsons of Old Hurst said in a statement on social media Thursday.

Copyright © 2026, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Ukraine strikes Moscow oil refinery in large-scale drone attack, with Zelenskyy saying it’s ‘time the war ended’

Ukraine strikes Moscow oil refinery in large-scale drone attack, with Zelenskyy saying it’s ‘time the war ended’
Ukraine strikes Moscow oil refinery in large-scale drone attack, with Zelenskyy saying it’s ‘time the war ended’
Black smoke rises from the area of the Russian oil producer Gazprom Neft’s Moscow oil refinery on the south-eastern outskirts of Moscow on June 18, 2026. (Photo by AFP via Getty Images)

(LONDON) — Ukraine launched hundreds of drones on Thursday targeting more than a dozen Russian regions, including Moscow, where they struck an oil refinery, sending plumes of black smoke into the air over the Russian capital.

Russia’s Ministry of Defense said the country’s defenses destroyed some 555 drones in the early morning hours. About 180 of those were shot down as they approached Moscow, the city’s mayor, Sergei Sobyanin, said in an update in Russian on the Telegram messaging app.

Ukraine laid claim to the aerial attack, with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy saying it marked the second time within a week that Kyiv had targeted the Moscow Oil Refinery, a sprawling facility in the city’s southeast that’s run by a subsidiary of state-owned Gazprom. Video verified by ABC News showed blasts at the Kapotnya district refinery.

“This is a fully justified response to Russian attacks on our cities and communities, and another important result of our warriors’ work against facilities that sustain Russia’s war machine,” Zelenskyy of Ukraine said on social media.

Russia on Thursday also continued its nightly long-range attacks on Ukraine, firing at least seven ballistic missiles and 239 drones at Ukraine overnight, the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine said in an update posted on social media. Ukraine said its defenses shot down or otherwise destroyed at least 216 drones or missiles.

Thursday’s Ukrainian strike ranked among the largest single-night long-range attacks undertaken by Kyiv since the war began more than four years ago. The country’s military said it targeted the refinery because it is “involved in supporting the Russian military.”

Zelenskyy sought in his social post to position Ukraine’s long-range strikes, which have escalated in recent weeks, as a means to push Moscow toward diplomacy. He said Ukraine’s Western partners have “have noted the precision and effectiveness of our mid-range strikes and long-range sanctions.”

The attack came in the hours before defense ministers of NATO states were set to gather in Brussels, Belgium, for a summit, where Ukraine’s security was among the topics to be discussed.

The Moscow public prosecutor’s office said “several” districts in the city were attacked by drones on Thursday, claiming there had been damage to apartment buildings. The office said there were casualties reported, but did not detail them.

Russia’s Department of Defense said it had launched in response a drone-and-missile attack against “fuel and energy facilities used by the Ukrainian Armed Forces.”

ABC News’ Victoria Beaule, Helena Skinner, Anna Sergeeva, Oleksiy Pshemyskiy and Jamie Dorrington contributed to this report.

Copyright © 2026, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Massive chunk of sea ice has not refrozen in West Antarctica, satellite images show

Massive chunk of sea ice has not refrozen in West Antarctica, satellite images show
Massive chunk of sea ice has not refrozen in West Antarctica, satellite images show
Sea ice concentration, June 14, 2026. (National Snow and Ice Data Center)

(ANTARCTICA) — A massive chunk of sea ice in West Antarctica has not refrozen following a winter heatwave in the region – a dramatic change that could further contribute to global sea level rise, experts told ABC News.

Graphics based on satellite imagery from the University of Colorado Boulder’s National Snow and Ice Data Center taken on Sunday show a large portion of sea ice measuring approximately 150,000 square miles – roughly the size of Montana – is not included in what is typically already frozen at this time of year, which is mid-winter in the Southern Hemisphere, experts told ABC News.

Every winter, Antarctic sea ice grows and decays, Peter Neff, a glaciologist at the University of Minnesota who specializes in ice core records, told ABC News. But since 2015, Antarctic sea ice has entered a “new, much reduced state,” in which less and less is re-freezing due to rising air and sea temperatures, Neff said.

This year, the level of sea ice in West Antarctica is about 50% lower than average, Neff estimated.

“This is a dramatic but not surprising observation in the context of the huge changes that have been occurring in Antarctica, particularly in this region of Antarctica, over the past decade,” Chuck Amsler, a professor of biology at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, told ABC News.

If the West Antarctica Ice Sheet were to collapse in its entirety, it has the potential to contribute more than 10 feet in sea level rise, according to a 2025 study by the International Thwaites Glacier Collaboration, a partnership between U.S. and U.K. agencies.

It is possible that this year’s June sea ice level in the area may surpass last year’s record low, Rose Malanga, a Ph.D. student at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign who conducted field research in Antarctica earlier this year, told ABC News. In June of both this year and 2025, the region had some of the lowest sea ice levels on record, Ellen Buckley, an assistant professor at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign’s Department of Earth Science and Environmental Change, told ABC News.

Data gathered by the Copernicus Earth observation program in June 2025 showed there was 12.6 million square kilometers of Antarctic sea ice, which is about 1.3 million square kilometers less than the 1991-2020 average.

Contributing factors likely include strengthening westerly winds, a phenomenon that’s connected to global warming due to climate change, as well as how the ocean is responding to those surface winds, Neff added.

A low-pressure anomaly north of the Bellingshausen Sea, which is adjacent to West Antarctica’s Antarctic Peninsula, is likely causing warm air from higher latitudes to warm the region and prevent sea ice formation, Buckley said.

“Winds drive how the ocean moves, but satellites can’t see into the ocean, so without being able to get down there, especially during the wintertime, we have very limited ability to do research,” he said.

The news of the lack of sea ice comes on the heels of above-average temperatures in the region, records show.

 

From January through April, the Bellingshausen Sea, where the ice would typically form, has seen sea surface temperatures anywhere from 1.8 to 5.4 degrees Fahrenheit above average, according to National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration data. Throughout May, the sea surface conditions cooled slightly but remained about 1.8 to 3.6 degrees Fahrenheit above average temperatures. 

In June, the Bellingshausen Sea surface temperature varied by as much as 1.8 degrees Fahrenheit above normal. Air temperatures over the Bellingshausen Sea are forecast to be up to 18 degrees Fahrenheit above average from Tuesday through the weekend.

The area that has not yet refrozen is located upwind of the regions on the Antarctic Peninsula that just experienced this warming. The heat wave can contribute to the lack of sea ice extent because there is not reflective white ice surface to keep it cold, Neff said.

“With this kind of situation where there isn’t sea ice forming in the winter, that means in the spring there will be less sea ice to melt,” according to Buckley.

The question of why the Antarctic sea ice freeze and thaw cycle has been behaving differently in the last 10 years, compared to the previous 30 years, is a “huge area of research” right now, Neff said, especially in the western region of the continent, which is being monitored closely by scientists.

Glaciologists have taken a particular interest in Antarctica’s western shelf due to its potential to cause a severe rise in sea levels. Thwaites Glacier, also known as the “Doomsday Glacier,” already contributes to 4% of overall sea level rise, while Pine Island Glacier is one of Antarctica’s fastest-melting glaciers.

Deterioration of the remaining portion of the Thwaites Glacier’s floating ice shelf has been accelerating in recent months and is likely to break off in the coming weeks or months, Neff said, adding that while it won’t completely destabilize the glacier it will contribute significantly to global sea level rise.

The Antarctic Peninsula is warming about five times faster than the global average. The most severe heat event occurred in March 2022, when the continent recorded temperatures between 54 degrees and 72 degrees Fahrenheit above normal.

“The warm events are expected to be coming more frequently,” Neff said.

ABC News’ Kenton Gewecke and Sam Wnek contributed to this report.

Copyright © 2026, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.